Libya: Terrorist jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia announces its dissolution
The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its “dissolution” in a communique published online on Saturday.
Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in which ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
Ansar al-Sharia is one of the jihadist groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, in the chaos following the death of dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. They overran the city in 2014.
East Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar earlier this month launched an offensive to oust jihadist fighters from their two remaining strongholds in Benghazi.